workforce

For almost 15 years, the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission (EDC) has been working hard to serve as a catalyst for economic growth in its region. In 2017, Business in Focus took a closer look at this dynamic organization and all of the great initiatives the EDC was working on in partnership with other sectors to make the City and County a vibrant and attractive place to live and do business. Read the entire article on the EDC and Kandiyohi County featured in

WILLMAR—Craig Johnson feels his blue collar, first-generation college student background will inform his work as the new president at Ridgewater College.
Johnson, 62, joined the college July 1. He came from the University Center in Sioux Falls, where he was director.
Johnson said his first few weeks have involved finding his way around the school’s campuses in Willmar and Hutchinson. He admitted he still gets lost occasionally on the larger Willmar campus.
He’s met people at both campuses

WILLMAR—The Pizza Ranch dining room buzzed with activity Wednesday as a small crowd of new workers learned about their new jobs.
It didn’t take long before the excited members of Community Christian School’s fifth-grade class had settled down to work.
As part of a class project at the Willmar school, the students had written their resumes and sent them to Pizza Ranch manager Jeff Keller to apply for jobs. He interviewed them a week ago and hired them to work there at lunchtime Wednesday.
The

ST. PAUL—Minnesota employers can apply for a grant beginning May 10 to help them develop a registered apprenticeship program to recruit, train and retain their 21st century highly-skilled workforce.
Approved applicants receive funds to offset their costs related to program development, instruction and supplies. Recipients can receive up to $5,000 for each registered apprentice.
The Minnesota Apprenticeship Initiative (MAI) targets employers in these five high-growth industries:
advanced manufacturing
agriculture
health